Patients who have a clear understanding of their after-hospital care instructions are 30 percent less likely to be readmitted or visit the emergency department than patients who lack this information, according to a new study funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Fewer hospital readmissions and ED visits also translate to lower total costs. The study found that total costs (a combination of actual hospitalization costs and estimated outpatient costs) were an average of $412 lower for the patients who received complete information than for those who did not.
The study is published in the February 3, 2009, issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Read the abstract.
